Terrain-following system



1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 .53 mOEm 2 0E IN VEN TORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENS CK CHARLES L. VgiRS ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed D80. 20, 1963 ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 .1. o. ANDERSON ET Al. 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 02-304 ONCE-J 40- I Z- ZOE-dim INVENTORS JAMES 0. AND N ER STO VEHRS DAVID ROSEN CHARLES L ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 S K fiwCm mRO ETE mmm V E N SL QMS m BWR w m DC V. B

ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 J. 0. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 INVENTORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY mum- .0m 2205 wozwmwumm won-CHE 1963 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 FIG Bu FIG. 8b

INVENTDRS JAMES C. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTQRNEY FIG. 8c

1963 J. o. ANDERSON E AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 20, 1963 19 Sheets-Sheet 8 1+7; .PRESELECTED R MAXIMUM FLIGHT L, PATH ANGLE LOCUS OF IDEAL CONTROL SURFACE FIG.9

BELOW PULL-OVER AT PULL- OVER ABOVE PULL-OVER FIG. I00 FIG. IO b FIG. lOc

INVENTORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORN EY 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 ATTORNEY ug 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

TERRAIN'FOLLOWING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 20, 1963 19 Sheets-Sheet 1O TU j'm (90- l R l-cos Y) -51 Y -Qo) FIG. l3

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INVENTORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

Aug. 6, 1968 TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 FIG. l6b

FIG I60 INVENTORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK BY CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

' TERRAIN-F'OLLOWING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 20, 1963 19 Sheets-Sheet 12 ATTORN EY Aug. 6, 1968 o, ANDERSON ET AL 3,396,391

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TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM 19 Sheets-Sheet l 5 Filed Dec. 20, 1963 3 w m E w c LOCAL HORIZON VEHICLE FIG. H VELOCITY VECTOR RANGE TIME INPUT -SIGNAL 1N VEN TORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK BY CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY 1958 J. o. ANDERSON E AL 3,396,391

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IDEAL CONTROL SURFACE FIG. 22!:

INVENTORS FIG. 22!) dAMEs'o. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK BY CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY 19 Sheets-Sheet 19 Aug. 6, 1968 J. o. ANDERSON ET AL TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 20, 1963 .& 2. v2 N. 2. z. mmmmm 8 525d mo 5o 4 20E 5%. Ii AH mm 2. .0 56 5. Euzud m 22.. Smz. .2 mm. 8 2. mo m! Euzwd 29.. 5%.. m R 2. 6 J 52.5w :9... 5%. WEE T: 3 52 .8% us; a N. 2. 6 3. .Ewzmd 29.. 5625 55.6

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INVENTORS JAMES O. ANDERSON DAVID ROSENSTOCK CHARLES L. VEHRS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,396,391 TERRAIN-FOLLOWING SYSTEM James 0. Anderson, Fullerton, David Rosenstock, Norco, and Charles L. Vehrs, Anaheim, Calif., assignors to North American Rockwell Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 332,996 24 Claims. (Cl. 343-7) The subject invention relates to a terrain-following system, and more particularly to improved means for computing a reference flight path for terrain-following airborne vehicles.

With the advent of modern radar systems for use in both offensive and defensive armaments systems, the tactics of airborne military vehicles have necessarily changed. In order for :an airborne military vehicle to penetrate deep into a hostile or enemy territory and effectively conduct a military mission, it is required that the vehicle or aircraft fly as low as possible in order to avoid detection by ground-based radar installations. In flying such a low-altitude flight profile, the flight path of the aircraft would desirably follow the profile of the terrain, so as to minimize exposure of the aircraft to a ground-based radar. The safe performance of such a flight profile has employed forward-looking airborne radar means for detecting terrain obstacles at suflicient advance ranges as to allow the pilot or autopilot to evasively manuever and avoid such obstacles.

Such prior art terrain avoidance radar systems have included means for measuring the vertical angle between the terrain obstacle and the vehicle path, and means for computing a desired vertical clearance angle in order to provide a preselected vertical clearance distance between the terrain obstacle and the vehicle. By comparing the measured or observed clearance angle with the computed or reference angle, the system provides an indication of the required angular deviation in the flight path vector, and may be employed in conjunction with the pitch attitude controller of an aircraft or missile, in order to achieve automatic terrain avoidance. Such a system is described, for example, in US. application Ser. No. 221,- 653, filed Aug. 29, 1962, for a Monopulse Receiver System, by James A. Moulton, assignor to North American Aviation, Inc., assignee of the subject invention. Such a device indicates the maximum or peak angular deviation from among the several angular deviations computed for several associated terrain obstacles lying along the azimuth direction of the vehicle flight path. In this way the desired flight path angle of the vehicle is constantly adjusted so as to assure at least a minimum clearance over all terrain obstacles in view.

Such a computed flight path as that described in connection with the computation of a peak manuever angle, while providing terrain avoidance, does not necessarily provide optimum terrain-following so as to minimize altitude exposure of the vehicle to detection and increase the offensive pentration capabilities of the military mission employing such vehicles. Instead, the vehicle may perform altitude overshoots over certain terrain, and hover in altitude over certain dips in terrain, thereby increasing the extent both of the exposure altitude and the duration thereof.

Accordingly, the concept of the invention relates to improved terrain following apparatus whereby the performance limits of the vehicle are more fully employed, so that the probability of detection of the aircraft is reduced.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention there is provided an airborne forward-looking radar system, including means for providing information concerning the slant range and direction of a terrain obstacle relative to ice the vehicle in which said radar is installed. There is also provided means responsive to said range and direction for generating control signals for maneuvering a vehicle at preselected maximum maneuver limits of normal acceleration and flight path angle, whereby flight control means responsive to the generated signal may control the aircraft in accordance therewith.

By means of the above described arrangement, a signal input to the flight control coupler for initiating a maximum pull-up maneuver is generated as a function of a minimum range from an obstacle to be avoided. Also, a signal input to the flight control means is provided for initiating a maximum pull-over maneuver as a function of a minimum range from the extremity of such terrain obstacle. Further, such pull-up and pull-over maneuvers are limited to preselected climb and dive angles determined from flight-safety considerations. Hence, terrainfollowing performance is improved, in that the magnitudes of vertical overshoots above obstacles to be avoided and the duration of a maximum altitude exposure of a terrain-following vehicle are reduced.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the invention to provide improved terrain-following radar apparatus for airborne use.

It is another object of the invention to provide means for improving the safety and reliability of the automatic terrain-following mode of an aircraft control signalling means.

It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a terrain-following radar system which minimizes the distance amount and the time duration of altitude overshoot performance by a terrain-following vehicle utilizing such radar.

It is yet another object of the subject invention to pro vide radar data processing means which more fully utilize the maneuver limit performance of a utilizing vehicle control system to improve the automatic terrain-following performance of such vehicle control system.

It is a further object of the subject invention to provide means for computing an optimum flight path reference for an aircraft as a function of preselected aircraft maneuver limits for improved terrain-following.

It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide means for computing a signal indicative of the deviation between the actual flight path of an aircraft and an optimized flight path for terrain following.

These and other objects of the subject invention will become apparent from the following specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1a and 1b are illustrations of exemplary prior art terrain-avoidance clearance-plane techniques;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the on-boresight geometry of the prior radar terrain-avoidance problem;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the ofl-boresight geometry of the prior art terrain-avoidance problem;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the flight profile performance of a prior art terrain-avoidance control system;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an ideal acceleration limited terrain-following flight profile;

FIGS. 6a and 6b are illustrations of the efiect of flightpath angle-limiting upon an acceleration-limited flight profile;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system employing the concept of the invention;

FIGS. 8a, 8b and 8c are illustrations of the effect of the flight path angle upon the control surface synthesized by the device of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the pull-up control surface sythesized by the device of the invention;

FIGS. 10a, 10b and are illustrations of the pull-over control surface concept of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of the full control surface or 

1. IN A VEHICLE-BORNE SYSTEM EMPLOYING A FORWARD RANGING SENSOR: MEANS FOR GENERATING A SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF A PRESELECTED CLEARANCE DISTANCE OF A VEHICLE FROM A SENSED TERRAIN OBSTACLE; AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE FLIGHT PATH ANGLE OF SAID VEHICLE FOR VARYING SAID PRESELECTED CLEARANCE DISTANCE SIGNAL. 